Dieter3

I was thinking maybe WWI based on the hallmark.

If you actually hook them together, it skews the ribbon and it's a bit funky!

Late Meiji/Early Taisho me thinks:

Here's another. It's quite nice, but notice that the hook was attached off-center and totally does not line up properly with the catch! Poor post-war quality control?

Yes - two things of noteworthyness - earlier JRC pieces would appear to have their hooks sewn on the outside of the ribbon vs. later pieces sewn between the folds of the ribbon. And of course later Orders had more "standard" attachment gear.

BINGO! Well, it's not a matter of status - merely a matter of focus thanks to the political winds here.......... :unsure:

Not me, but I know who! I'm out of the pricey medals business for now. Had to shift financial focus for the foreseeable future.

Yes!!

What amazes me most is the incredible lack of documentation for Order of Merit, considering that they are actually VERY common, despite the cost.

I think it is pretty common to find Rising Suns in silver kanji cases with the "SU" marked rosettes. I've seen quite a few, you too, right?

Quite reasonable! ;)

Kinda surprised the piece above didn't sell at that price! The medallion does look a bit beat up around the edges, but still. The market never ceases to amaze me.

Yes, the size is CLOSE, but the case on the right is slightly larger, length and heighth, but width is the same. The rosette then, being "SU" marked, must have just been thrown in by the seller. I really hate it when people do that. :angry:

Not to divert from the original topic of this thread, but since we're showing codes here, thought I'd throw this up - a gorgeous 6th Class Sacred Crown from Rich Catalano's site (sorry Rich, hope I'm not stealing your thunder here! ) with code "ME":

Good view of the slits for the breast stars:

Also from Mikasa, some of Togo's uniforms:

The "typical" post-war case on the left, and this "interesting" case on the right:

O.K., here's another one for you - no interesting marks, but the case is interesting. Not sure what to make of this one. The case is what caught my eye because of the slightly different writing style. I figured this was just another typical post-war medal. Once I got it, not sure what to make of it! The medal looks like it could be anywhere from late WWII to post-war, but not modern post-war. The rosette has our familiar "SU" mark on it. The case is what is interesting - yes, the style is slightly different, but on closer inspection I found that it looked different becasue it is also in a narrower column than the typical post-war case - but the most interesting part is that otherwise the case would appear to be like any other post-war case without the latch hardware - and this is the case, and it is made of Bakelite plastic - however this one is finished in black lacquer - alas, it doesn't show up well in the pictures, but it is lacquer over plastic! I simply don't know what to make of the piece as a whole, but if I had to guess, I'd say the seller simply cobbled together a medal, a rosette, and a case - all from different periods. Nick, you seem the most familiar with aging of these Rising Suns - what do you think??